Dover facility will serve families of war dead

Dover facility will serve families of war dead
By Randall Chase - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jan 5, 2010 12:55:06 EST

DOVER, Del. — The military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base, where U.S. war casualties from overseas are brought home, will open a new facility Wednesday to serve families who travel there to witness the return of their loved ones’ remains.

The Center for Families of the Fallen will be staffed by counselors and support specialists who will assist families awaiting the return of their loved ones to the nation’s largest military mortuary. Families also will be able to meet with casualty assistance officers who are assigned to them.

Officials said the new center will be more convenient both for families and mortuary officials than the space now shared by the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Center at Dover with the base’s active duty and reserve wings.

“Sadly, as the death toll has grown in Afghanistan and Iraq, we find we need a larger facility,” said Maj. Shannon Mann, a spokeswoman for AFMAO.

Also, with the lifting of an 18-year ban on news coverage of returning U.S. war dead in April, more families are traveling to Dover to witness the return of loved ones killed overseas. The new policy allows each family to decide whether to allow media coverage of their loved one being returned, and many families who consent to media coverage also choose to come to Dover themselves.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/01/ap_dover_new_mortuary_010510/

rather than having to find a nearby motel/hotel.

Would rather see a closing out of these services due to NO more traffic of this type going through Dover - but guess they will remain partnered with the escalation in Afghanistan.



sigh